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Instructional videos need to maintain learners' attention to foster learning, therefore, a fine-grained measurement of attention is required. Existing gaze measures like inter-subject correlation (ISC) assume a singular focal point deemed meaningful for indicating attention. We argue that multiple meaningful foci can exist and propose an automatically generated gaze measure labeled gaze cluster membership (GCM). By applying the density-based clustering in spatial databases (DBSCAN) algorithm to gaze position data from over 100 participants, we categorize viewers as attentive when they are part of a cluster and as inattentive when they are not. Using two videos, we demonstrate that our settings of DBSCAN generate meaningful clusters. We show that low ISC values (neuronal and eye tracking data) during multiple meaningful foci do not necessarily indicate a lack of attention. Additionally, GCM predicts participants' self-reported mental effort and their tested knowledge. Our innovative approach is of high value for assessing learner attention and designing instructional videos. (DIPF/Orig.)

Phytoene synthase (PSY) catalyzes the first committed step in the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway and is a major rate-limiting enzyme of carotenogenesis. PSY is highly regulated by various regulators and factors to modulate carotenoid biosynthesis in response to diverse developmental and environmental cues. Because of its critical role in controlling the total amount of synthesized carotenoids, PSY has been extensively investigated and engineered in plant species. However, much remains to be learned on its multifaceted regulatory control and its catalytic efficiency for carotenoid enrichment in crops. Here, we present current knowledge on the basic biology, the functional evolution, the dynamic regulation, and the metabolic engineering of PSY. We also discuss the open questions and gaps to stimulate additional research on this most studied gene/enzyme in the carotenogenic pathway.

Sports performance is influenced by several factors. Psychological factors are a main contributor to sports performance, but are themselves influenced by the athlete’s environment, e.g., social environment, financial situation, and so on. It is therefore necessary to assess the influence of environmental factors on competitive performance, which is likely to occur through psychological mechanisms. To this purpose, 592 athletes between 13 and 65 years of age (28.04 ± 9.15, 357 female, 204 male, 2 of unspecified gender) at various performance levels were surveyed using a set of questionnaires (MIPS, CSAI, GSE, TDEQ5 and additional questions) regarding their psychological and competitive performance as well as their perceptions of their social situation and social environment. Differences in environmental and psychological factors were found between different athlete groups, e.g. according to gender (e. g. self-efficacy being higher in male participants, p ≤ .010, η = .114), handedness (e. g. left-handers perceiving their social surroundings as more perfectionistic), and sport involved (e. g. higher values for CSAI worry in team sports, p ≤ .038, η = .009). Connections between performance and several environmental factors (e.g., highest competitive level and family, p ≤ .017, r = -.102) and intercorrelations among psychological scales, such as MIPS and CSAI, were also found. Self-efficacy correlated with highest competitive level in the current main sport (p ≤ .006, r = -.120) as well as CSAI worry (p ≤ .002, r = -.138), thus showing a probable effect of expected self-efficacy and CSAI worry on sports performance, while self-efficacy itself correlated with and was therefore most probably influenced by several environmental factors, for instance social environment (p ≤ .001, r = -.170), finances (p ≤ .001, r = -.206) and sleep quality (p ≤ .001, r = -.252), amongst others, and CSAI worry was influenced by perfectionism of the environment (e. g. MIPS coach, p ≤ .001, r = -.3420). Therefore, it can be said that sports performance is most likely influenced by a set of environmental factors (e.g., family, social surroundings, perfectionism of family, coach, and team) via psychological factors such as self-efficacy and CSAI. Psychological performance itself is a factor that influences sports performance, but it is most likely also the link through which environmental factors influence sports performance.

This study contributes to understanding students’ emotional responses to academic stressors by integrating grit into the well-established Job Demands-Resources Model and by examining the relationship between academic demands, grit (consistency of interests, perseverance of effort), burnout, engagement, academic achievement, depression, and life satisfaction in Chinese students. We conducted a self-report study with N = 1527 Chinese high school students (Mage = 16.38 years, SD = 1.04). The results of structural equation modeling showed that after controlling for gender, socio-economic status, and school types, demands positively related to burnout and negatively related to engagement. Both facets of grit negatively related to exhaustion, whereas only perseverance of effort positively related to engagement. Burnout positively related to depression and negatively related to life satisfaction, whereas engagement positively related to life satisfaction. However, neither burnout nor engagement was related to academic achievement. Our findings indicate that grit may be protective against school burnout.

What types of asylum seekers are Europeans willing to accept? We conducted a conjoint experiment asking 18,000 eligible voters in 15 European countries to evaluate 180,000 profiles of asylum seekers that randomly varied on nine attributes. Asylum seekers who have higher employability, have more consistent asylum testimonies and severe vulnerabilities, and are Christian rather than Muslim received the greatest public support. These results suggest that public preferences over asylum seekers are shaped by sociotropic evaluations of their potential economic contributions, humanitarian concerns about the deservingness of their claims, and anti-Muslim bias. These preferences are similar across respondents of different ages, education levels, incomes, and political ideologies, as well as across the surveyed countries.This public consensus on what types of asylum seekers to accept has important implications for theory and policy.

The aim of the present study was to examine parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with or without a child with a mental health condition across Europe. The study included 6720 parents recruited through schools, patient organizations and social media platforms (2002 parents with a child with a mental health condition and 4718 without) from seven European countries: the UK (n = 508), Sweden (n = 1436), Spain (n = 1491), Belgium (n = 508), the Netherlands (n = 324), Germany (n = 1662) and Italy (n = 794). Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for themselves and their child, and many found homeschooling to be of poor quality, with insufficient support from schools. In most countries, contact with teachers was limited, leaving parents with primary responsibility for managing homeschooling. Parents also reported increased levels of stress, worry, social isolation, and domestic conflict. A small number of parents reported increased parental alcohol/drug use. Some differences were found between countries and some negative experiences were more common in families with a child with a mental health condition. However, differences between countries and between families with and without a mental health condition were generally small, indicating that many parents across countries reported negative experiences. Some parents also reported positive experiences of homeschooling. The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities. Given that school closures may be less effective than other interventions, policymakers need to carefully consider the negative consequences of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. (ZPID).

Exposure to traumatic experiences across lifespan shapes the functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and sets individuals at risk to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. Particularly, HPA axis regulation and the psychological health of the expectant mother have been of interest, as the health of the unborn child may be affected through changes in gestational biology. The present study investigated the potential associations between lifetime trauma, current symptoms (depression and anxiety) and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in pregnant women. A total of 149 pregnant women were interviewed in public outpatient clinics with varying gestational age in Greece, Spain and Perú. Lifetime trauma exposure and current symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed. HCC was measured in scalp-near hair segments (2 cm length) reflecting cumulative cortisol secretion of the past two months. Results showed that trauma load is negatively associated with HCC and higher symptoms of depression and anxiety. There was a negative association between HCC and symptoms. The present findings support the notion that cumulative trauma exposure exerts long-lasting effects on the expectant mother’s HPA axis activity functioning and mental health and may thereby potentially create risk trajectories for the unborn child via changes in gestational biology.

Teaching can be an emotionally exhausting profession, thus mechanisms that protect teachers from feeling emotionally overextended need to be investigated. In two studies, we examined the indirect role teacher-student relationships have on teachers' level of emotional exhaustion through teachers' experiences of enjoyment and anger. In the first, we used a latent path analysis to examine the indirect effect of teacher-perceived (N=266) teacher-student-relationships on teachers' emotional exhaustion in a cross-sectional design. In the second study, we extended these findings to a longitudinal design that utilized student perceptions and replicated the indirect effect of teacher-student relationships on teachers' (N=69) emotional exhaustion using student (N=1643) perceptions of teacher-student relationships. The results from both studies indicated that high quality teacher-student relationships help protect teachers from being emotionally exhausted through increasing the amount of enjoyment and decreasing the amount of anger they experienced in the classroom. (c) Springer Nature B.V. 2018. (ZPID).

To provide a systematic review of studies that investigated the effects of Active Break (AB) school-based interventions on Physical Activity (PA) levels, classroom behavior, cognitive functions, and academic performance in primary school children. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Searches of electronic databases and grey literature, with no time restriction and up to April 2019, resulted in 22 intervention studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Quality assessment of the studies was performed in accordance with the Cochrane Tool for Quality Assessment for RCTs and the STROBE tool for observational studies. Four AB related outcomes were analyzed: (i) AB interventions had a significant effect in increasing PA levels in primary school children, both in terms of increased moderate to vigorous PA and step count. The meta-analysis seems to confirm this trend, showing a statistically significant result for the step count (p<0.00001, CI95% −0.71,1.21) (random model I²=0%). (ii) Regarding classroom behavior, time spent on task (TOT) during lessons significantly increased in each of the included studies. On the other hand, the effects on (iii) cognitive functions (attention components, working memory, executive functions) and (iv) academic achievements (mathematics, reading) were not conclusive. Positive effects were found for PA levels and classroom behavior, while the conflicting results for cognitive functions and academic achievements suggest that the effect could be more evident with curriculum focused active breaks and active lessons that integrate ABs with key learning aspects and cognitive engagement.

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel class of singlestranded RNAs with a closed loop structure. The majority of circRNAs are formed by a back-splicing process in pre-mRNA splicing. Their expression is dynamically regulated and shows spatiotemporal patterns among cell types, tissues and developmental stages. CircRNAs have important biological functions in many physiological processes, and their aberrant expression is implicated in many human diseases. Due to their high stability, circRNAs are becoming promising biomarkers in many human diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases and human cancers. In this review, we focus on the translational potential of using human blood circRNAs as liquid biopsy biomarkers for human diseases. We highlight their abundant expression, essential biological functions and signi cant correlations to human diseases in various components of peripheral blood, including whole blood, blood cells and extracellular vesicles. In addition, we summarize the current knowledge of blood circRNA biomarkers for disease diagnosis or prognosis.